IBM's Multicultural Multinational Teams
IBM's Multicultural Multinational Teams
South University Online
Today's work environment is more complex than it has ever been. With the number of global companies increasing and the competition that has resulted from this business practice, there has been tremendous demand for organizations to improve their workforce practices. The pressures of organizations to be globally competitive has led to drastic changes in the way that business work practices are utilized. Organizations had to develop strategies that increased efficiency, productivity, and also profitability. The resulting changes has shifted the work environment from an individualistic nature to more of a team oriented structure. The complexity and makeup of some projects makes it difficult for an individual to complete designated tasks effectively. As a result, organizations will develop teams of people with complementary abilities which allows for the combining of knowledge and experience to accomplish widespread objectives. Work teams can consist of not only domestic teams, but also of teams that are multicultural and multinational. Multinational, multicultural teams have to be innovative and productive in order to overcome the intense competition that exists in today's business environment.
If you calculate the person-hours devoted to IBM's team projects, they amount to more than 180,000 hours of management time each year. Do you think this is a wise investment of IBM's human resources? Why or why not?
The amount of hours IBM devotes to management time for team projects is an excellent idea along with being a wise investment that has proven to various organizations how well work teams can transform an organization for the better. A multicultural and multinational team can offer a company tremendous benefits, however there are some major obstacles that need to be overcome. Our text states that "research on global considerations in the use of
South University Online
Today's work environment is more complex than it has ever been. With the number of global companies increasing and the competition that has resulted from this business practice, there has been tremendous demand for organizations to improve their workforce practices. The pressures of organizations to be globally competitive has led to drastic changes in the way that business work practices are utilized. Organizations had to develop strategies that increased efficiency, productivity, and also profitability. The resulting changes has shifted the work environment from an individualistic nature to more of a team oriented structure. The complexity and makeup of some projects makes it difficult for an individual to complete designated tasks effectively. As a result, organizations will develop teams of people with complementary abilities which allows for the combining of knowledge and experience to accomplish widespread objectives. Work teams can consist of not only domestic teams, but also of teams that are multicultural and multinational. Multinational, multicultural teams have to be innovative and productive in order to overcome the intense competition that exists in today's business environment.
If you calculate the person-hours devoted to IBM's team projects, they amount to more than 180,000 hours of management time each year. Do you think this is a wise investment of IBM's human resources? Why or why not?
The amount of hours IBM devotes to management time for team projects is an excellent idea along with being a wise investment that has proven to various organizations how well work teams can transform an organization for the better. A multicultural and multinational team can offer a company tremendous benefits, however there are some major obstacles that need to be overcome. Our text states that "research on global considerations in the use of
References: Robbins, S. and Judge, T. (2011). Organizational Behavior, 14th Edition [Vital Source digital version]. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Retrieved from: http://digitalbookshelf.southuniversity.edu/books.... South University Online. (2014). MGT3002 S01:Organizational Behavior Week 3 Work Teams Retrieved from myeclassonline.com.... IBM. (2014). Chronological History of IBM 1990s, Retrieved 4/22/2014 from: http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/history/decade_1990.html University of Oregon Teaching Effectiveness Program, (2014) Managing Groups, Tuckman’s 5 Stages of Group Development. Retrieved 4/22/2014 from: http://tep.uoregon.edu/technology/blackboard/docs/groups.pdf Moon, D., (2012). Multicultural Teams: Where Culture, Leadership, Decision Making, and Communication Connect Retrieved 4/22/2014 from: http://www.wciujournal.org/uploads/files/Don%20Moon%20Where%20culture%20leadership%20decision%20making%20and%20communication%20connect.pdf